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Hailing from the Cassandran Worlds,[1]Master Sifo-Dyas was a leading member of the Jedi High Council, the governing body of the Jedi Order, in the last decades of the Galactic Republic. However, some time prior to the Invasion of Naboo, tensions arose between Sifo-Dyas and his fellow councilors. Foreseeing an upcoming full-scale conflict, he started advocating for the creation of an army for the Republic. The rest of the High Council deemed his ideas too extreme, and Sifo-Dyas was removed from his position. Even though the other Jedi had rejected his project, he found a way to carry it out without their consent. Sifo-Dyas contacted the Kaminoans, who were reputed for their clone hatcheries, and secretly commissioned them to grow a clone army for the Republic,[2] which he pretended was a request of the Galactic Senate.[3]

Some time later, Master Sifo-Dyas was sent on a secret mission by Finis Valorum, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, who asked him to deal with the Pyke Syndicate. Valorum also asked his personal aide, Silman, to accompany the Jedi on his way to the planetOba Diah, where the Pykes were headquartered. However, Sifo-Dyas was never able to complete the Chancellor's mission, as the High Council called him to deal with another conflict: on Felucia, a skirmish had broken out between the local tribes, and Sifo-Dyas was assigned to quell the conflict. As a consequence, both Sifo-Dyas and Silman were diverted to Felucia aboard T-6 shuttle77519.[2]

However, neither man would ever reach their destination. In the shadows, the Sith wished to take over the clone army in the future, and they plotted against Sifo-Dyas' life. CountDooku of Serenno, a defrocked Jedi now known as the Sith Lord named Darth Tyranus, hired the Pykes to kill Sifo-Dyas. Since those criminals wished to gain an advantage over rival crime families, they accepted Tyranus' offer and shot down Sifo-Dyas' shuttle over Oba Diah's Moon. After inspecting the wreckage, they turned over the Jedi Master's corpse to Tyranus as proof of their deal fulfilled. While Sifo-Dyas had died in the crash, Silman was still alive when the Pykes inspected the wreckage. They decided to keep the Chancellor's aide locked up in their prison as insurance, recognizing that dealing with a Sith Lord like Tyranus would require it.[2]

Ten years after the Jedi Master's death, the army he had commissioned was discovered by Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi Knight who was investigating on Kamino following the murder of the bounty hunterZam Wesell by a mysterious colleague of hers, Jango Fett. To his great surprise, Kenobi was greeted by Taun We, a Kaminoan, as if they had been expecting his visit for some time. Prime MinisterLama Su then informed the Jedi of the progress of the clone army ordered by Sifo-Dyas some ten years ago. Although he did not know what the cloners were talking about, Kenobi played along so he could learn more. He bluffed his way into the heart of the hatcheries, and was introduced to the original source of the clones, which was none other than Jango Fett. As soon as he took leave of the Kaminoans, Kenobi contacted the High Council and told them of the clone army and how Sifo-Dyas was supposed to have commissioned it. The Council members, however, had been completely unaware of it for ten years. Ultimately, Sifo-Dyas' clone army ended up being used at the behest of the Republic, and the conflict between the Separatists and the Republic was named "the Clone Wars" after it.[3]

An illusion of Sifo-Dyas on Moraband

Toward the end of the Clone Wars, a Jedi mission led by Plo Koon and Commander Wolffe found a lightsaber belonging to the long-dead Sifo-Dyas on Oba Diah's moon. This unexpected discovery prompted Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker to investigate his decade-old disappearance. Meanwhile, Tyranus' master, the mysterious Darth Sidious, was furious to discover that the Jedi were investigating the loose end that was Sifo-Dyas. He ordered Tyranus to clean up his affairs before it was too late.[2]

As part of the Sith illusions created by Darth Sidious and Darth Tyranus' ritual, Sifo-Dyas appeared to Yoda on Moraband. His phantom was being tortured, bound by electricity. The specter begged Yoda to release him, offering in exchange the identity of the Sith Lord. However, Yoda saw through him with his Sith eyes and refused the offer, causing him to merge into Sidious.[4]

In early drafts of Attack of the Clones, the name of the Jedi who contacted the Kaminoans was Sido-Dyas, and was originally a false identity for Darth Sidious—Obi-Wan Kenobi claimed to have never heard of him, and Mace Windu confirmed no Jedi of that name existed. The spelling "Sifo-Dyas" appears in one draft as a typing error that Lucas preferred to the original name;[5] thus the scenario of the Jedi's identity was rewritten. Additionally, the Jedi Master's name was changed in the Portuguese translation to Zaifo-Vias, since his original name sounded much like "se fodias," a vulgar expression in Brazil.[6]